Ukrainian refugees can stay until March 2024

Refugees from Ukraine are entitled to shelter, medical assistance and education for minor children in the Netherlands until March 2024. They will also be allowed to work. These agreements initially applied until March 4, 2023, but have been extended by a year, State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum Policy) announced.

The decision was made by the justice ministers of the European Union. If a safe return to Ukraine is possible, the so-called Temporary Protection Directive (RTB) can be withdrawn earlier. Should the situation in Ukraine remain unchanged or worsen, the council may extend the measure beyond March 2024.

Van der Burg supports the extension. "The end of the war is not yet in sight, so it remains necessary to receive refugees from Ukraine and to offer them a safe place." It is also important to give the refugees and other parties clarity, he added.

More than 7 million Ukrainians have fled to European countries since the war broke out at the end of February. In the Netherlands, more than 80,000 Ukrainian refugees are currently registered in the Personal Records Database (BRP), Van der Burg reported to the Tweede Kamer. Every week, 750 Ukrainians come to the Netherlands. More than 61,000 Ukrainian refugees are housed in emergency shelters and 150 in crisis emergency shelters. The occupancy rate in emergency shelters is now 96 percent.

The Cabinet is currently working on a long-term policy for the reception of Ukrainians. The Cabinet considers it important that Ukrainians can learn the language, so that they can participate in society. It is exploring the possibility of voluntary integration.